Sept 2015 - Sam Carlson

Sept 2015 - Sam Carlson

Sam Carlson - September Athlete of the Month

Hometown:

Position:

Height:

Kenny Lake, AL

Forward

6' 3"

Team:

Birthday:

Weight:

Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL)

September 20, 1995

210

Chosen Attribute: Integrity

Why is this important to you?

I have always been taught that Integrity is who you are when no one is watching. Although you should live with the constant reminder that Jesus is always watching as encouragement to make decisions based on integrity, but not on guilt. It’s important to use Integrity in all you do because ultimately you should want everything you say and do to be for the glory of God and not for the approval of men; fans, teammates and coaches. In my training for hockey, likewise in life, it takes integrity to finish each exercise or job without cutting corners, or not completing each rep fully. If my intention truly is to glorify the Lord, then it shouldn’t matter if anyone else is watching.

Favorite Scripture verse: 1 Corinthians 9:25: "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

I love this verse because as an athlete it is an important reminder that the true prize is not the crown, trophy or status, but rather simply to glorify the Lord through my competing and actions.

How have you been involved with FCA in the past?

I attended The Buffalo camp in May of 2014, The Christian Cup in summer of 2014, and The Chowder Cup this past July. All camps were very rewarding and encouraging in my walk of Faith and also beneficial in my development as a hockey player. In this past Chowder Cup I really developed a close group of friends. Through the course of the week it was evident that as we got closer through huddles, practice, and just down time, our play grew stronger and we became unified as a team and more effective in our games.

What else should we know about you?

I grew up in rural Alaska where I had many outdoors hobbies besides hockey in the winter. I ran my own trap line and also just loved exploring God's creation with my snow machine. My summers would consist of family camping trips, more explorations, and fishing expeditions. When the fall rolled around it was hunting season and we would make it a priority to get plenty of meat for the year. We hunted mainly moose, caribou, and black bear. Life was good as a kid in Alaska.

My sophomore summer, our family moved to northern Minnesota where I finished up my junior and senior years of high school. My hobbies remained the same for the most part but instead of hunting moose it was deer, ducks and geese. Still lots of fishing, just different species. My senior year summer consisted of a lot of tryouts for different junior teams. Through God's grace, I landed a spot on a junior team back up in Alaska for the Kenai River Brown Bears in the NAHL. This season I am excited about returning to the Brown Bears as a veteran and having a leadership role as an assistant captain. It has been such a blessing to return to Alaska for my junior hockey experience.

I am the youngest of 7 kids in our family and it has been such a blessing having them to look up to. They all played hockey growing up and had successful collegiate experiences. They are, Sarah Carlson (Boston College), Hannah Carlson (Bethel University), Isaiah Carlson (Salve Regina), Naomi and Mary Carlson (Syracuse University), and Leah Carlson (Robert Morris University).

When I initially commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get several emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?Cheers!

Thu, May 9, 2019 @ 11:49 PM

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